1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a logo data generating method for generating logo data to be stored in a printer that prints internally registered logo data according to a specific print command, is connected to a data storage medium for storing a computer program that achieves the logo data generating method, to a computer program product containing executable commands for storing the logo data in the printer, and to a system for generating logo data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A logo is generally used in reference to a graphic symbol such as a trademark identifying a store or company and, as relates to the present invention, is printed on a sales receipt by a point-of-sale (POS) terminal printer. As used herein, a logo also includes advertising information, coupons, announcements or notifications, and other relatively static information that is similarly printed to a sales receipt.
It will also be noted that “color reduction” is used herein to mean reducing color depth or to convert an image to a gray scale or halftone image.
In addition to printing the purchased products, price, and other transaction information to sales receipts, modern POS terminals also commonly print a logo containing a store or company name or emblem on the receipt. Logos such as these printed by POS terminals typically contain a design graphic and decorative characters, and most logos therefore consist of image data; that is, they are image files.
Image files are typically rather large, which means there would be a noticeable increase in the time required to print each receipt if the logo data is sent to the printer each time a receipt is printed. It is also desirable to complete the checkout process, that is, register the purchased products and print the receipt to complete the transaction, as quickly as possible. Fast printing is therefore particularly desirable for a POS terminal.
Frequently printed logo data is therefore commonly stored in the non-volatile memory, or storage, of the POS terminal printer, which then reads the logo data from the non-volatile memory when a specific print command is received from the host system to print the logo. This technique eliminates the need to send the logo data (particularly image data) from the host, thus reducing the load on the host, eliminating the corresponding transmission time, and thereby significantly improving the effective print speed.
Our invention relates to the storing of this type of logo data in a printer.
The latest full-color printers are capable of printing more than 16 million colors, and can print natural, photo-quality images. Full-color logo printing is therefore also possible, but in addition to requiring a complicated image processing operation, printing in near-natural colors requires storing CMYK color separation print pattern data for cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow Y), and black (K) images, and requires printing each of these dot patterns. Compared with monochrome printing, full-color printing is generally slower and requires a more complex print mechanism because of the image data processing requirements, the time required for the printer to receive the image data, and the actual printing process.
When printing sales receipts at the check-out counter, POS terminal printers must be capable of fast printing with a certain print quality, quiet operation, and economical operation, and full-color printing is therefore not necessarily desirable. While full-color printing is thus not necessarily needed, there is a need for reducing full-color images to a specific number of colors according to the particular printing application and printing these reduced-color images, and products meeting this need will be provided.
The primary purpose of a POS printer is printing detailed information about sales transactions, including the purchased products and price information, to a sales receipt and journal paper. Color printing has therefore been a relatively low priority need with POS printers, and the latent need for color printing has not been particularly recognized.
Sales receipts issued from POS printers record for the customer what products were purchased and the purchase price, and are handed directly to the customer after the purchased products have been registered and the sales transaction is completed. Sales receipts are therefore also a medium for conveying information. Many customers read the receipt to confirm the product and price information. Many customers also refer to the receipt to record their purchases in a home budget ledger after returning home. Receipts are thus individually handed to the customer and contain information that is important to the customer. Receipts are therefore fundamentally different from common flyers and advertisements, and are often treated by the customer as a record containing important personal information.
As noted above, customers often check the content of the receipt in order to confirm transaction content. It therefore follows that by printing information of interest to the customer on the receipt, the information can be reliably conveyed to the customer. In this case, however, it is also desirable to differentiate this message information as much as possible.
For example, product promotions and announcements can be printed on a sales receipt, and these can be made more effective by printing them in color using photographs, images, letters, and other text (referred to below as “promotional images”) similarly to conventional logo printing.
Because receipts are handed directly and individually to each customer, their ability to get the attention of, and appeal to, the customer is noticeably greater than normal print advertisements. Color image information in particular is an effective means of getting the customer's attention and attracts attention every time the customer checks the receipt. Printing this advertising information on receipts is therefore particularly effective as an advertising and sales promotion tool.
Color POS printers are typically not full-color printers because of reasons relating to print speed and economy as noted above, and can only print using a few specific colors (such as red and black, for example). Even though the number of printable colors may be limited, POS systems that can print color images can be used as a sales promotion tool rather than simply a terminal for registering sales transactions. POS systems equipped with color printers are therefore expected to become dominant POS products in the sales and distribution industry.